So myself and almost a million other uni students will be heading into their third year of study this September, some with a job planned or lined up for graduation and some who don't. I am one of the students who doesn't.

I'm not afraid to admit that although university has been incredible, the first year of uni was a huge learning curve and my lessons/lectures aren't all I expected them to be. My anticipations and expectations for these three years were high, I don't know if I expected more because in TV university looks incredible, or maybe I just didn't choose the right course/university for my personal way of learning.

It used to be a bit of a tradition that when going away with family, mum and I would spend some time relaxing in the closest spa. Picture us soaking up quartz, salt and greek herbs in turkish and Japanese steam rooms, napping on water beds in borrowed robes and dipping in the mineral pool under the stars.

This week has been absolutely crazy with travelling to Wales, spending time with my boyfriend's family for the first time and heading back for a few days of hard work before I shoot off to Leeds Festival.

Travelling a lot and being stressed is the perfect way to give me a hella' lot of forehead spots and dry skin never mind leaving me feeling a little tense and in need of some self-love. My days away this week were an absolute dream- the weather in Wales was beautiful and being by the sea felt like a little slice of Greece (or somewhere equally as far away from the UK as possible)!

If you're anything like me, trips away are few and far between! Getting to go away for a few days is such a treat especially if university is taking a toll or I just need to get out of the city. Days out in the Lake District are one my my favourite things do to in summer but it's not often that I get to go somewhere I haven't been before.

If you know me, you'll know that I hold brows sacred. They frame your face and whether they're done wrong or right, they really can change the way you look! Since Cara Deleveigne rose to fame a few years ago, big brows have come into fashion. We can't all get Kylie Jenner's eyebrow arches or PLL Aria's thick brows but a gal's gotta do what she's gotta do to get those caterpillars looking FLY.

At first I contemplated putting the phrase 'Female Nudity' in the title of this post but thought that with a quick google search, it might not attract the sort of readers I intended. But that's just the thing really: why does 'female nudity' and nudity in general have so many connotations of straight up sex?

There's no right or wrong answer to 'is nudity degrading or empowering'. For different people, a different answer arises. Whilst some may feel empowered by wearing less clothes, some may feel empowered by having the ability to cover up. Whether you're a male or female, if you feel good about yourself and want to show some skin then who's to say that you shouldn't?

Hello! A slightly different Sunday Post on the blog today! Are you as ready for Autumn as I am? I'm SO excited for deep purple lipsticks and layers of clothes but I'm also going to miss having an excuse to wear little lace bralets and maxi skirts. I love to buy underwear that can pull off as a bralet and wear it day-to-day in summer, purely cause even when it's only 16 degrees outside I start to melt haha.

One of my obsessions this summer has been matte lipsticks (see my other obsessions here!) So when Seventeen sent me an awesome package which included their new Mega Matte Lipsticks* in the shades 'Roses are Red' & 'Looking Buff', I was super excited.

Some people are crazy cat ladies, I am a crazy notebook lady at the moment and PROUD. If you look back, every year the closer we progress towards September, the more organisation crazy I go- I swear it's subconscious. If you haven't read my bullet journal post yet, you might not have realised just how much planning motivates me to get things done.

I don't always carry through with my plans but hey, it's okay to *ahem* forget something from your to-do list once in a while. Here are a few pieces I picked up from my fave craft store, The Range (sorry Hobbycraft) when I found myself in town with mum the other day.

We'll start with my current fave-

I'm seriously starting to think that Bullet Journalling has taken over the world. Being one of the least organised people to have ever walked the Earth, this trend is something that I not only love but NEED. Feeling organised makes me motivated and I've been saying for so long that I'd make a bullet journal. Before running home with WHSmiths supply of Moleskins I decided to test it out first, in a smaller, dedicated notebook.

A season of change was bestowed upon me and if you've been reading this blog lately you'll know that 2016 has been one of the craziest years of my life so far. This year has been an amazing, incredible yet difficult learning curve in which I feel I've discovered a new self, dropped old habits, cut negative ties and really shed the skin that I'd lived in all of my teenage years.

When March/April came around it was time to look for a new house to live in in September. Alex, my boyfriend who I've known for so many years but only 'been with' for the whole of this year (almost) and I decided to move in together for the second year in a row, this time with new friends!

Spreading negativity or stepping on anybody's toes is the last thing I want to do so I'll just clarify before you read, this isn't targeted at anyone or written to cause offence. I noticed these things a few weeks ago but wasn't sure if a lot of brands did this but lately within the Blogosphere, a few bloggers have said similar things about Coconut Lane and brands that are similar.

It's officially around a month until us students flee back to the cities- whether it's your first year or your last, heading back to university can be a little daunting. Student life has it's perks (holla at my flatmates and the ever irritating SLC) but living away from home can get me SO down if it's for long periods of time.

There are so many little things that missed about home while being at university, silly things that I didn't even usually notice before! Such as how comforting the sound of the washing machine is, haha. Things which were annoying before like adverts on the TV (I only really use Netflix at university) became something that reminded me of being at home; the familiar sounds and smells of the place I love.

Here are a few things you can do to make university feel a little more homely:

Mood

Scarlet State is a PR friendly blog and all sponsored posts, sample reviews or products I have been sent will be declared with an asterisk (*) or /and a small disclaimer at the end of the post. The opinions in these posts are mine only and I will only ever give my honest opinion.

All products featured from June/July 2016 are cruelty-free and vegan. Posts before this contain products possibly not suitable for vegans! For my full disclaimer, see here.